Grecian Odyssey, A Student's View (Day 10)

The Honors Program just completed its Grecian Odyssey tour, where thirty-five students and two staff members traveled to Greece from May 6th through the 16th. We asked our students to blog about the journey, so each day is written from the perspective various students.  Today's post includes contributions from Jackson Schultz, a sophomore double majoring in Creative Writing and Geology; Olivia Bosse, a junior Dietetics major; and Alyssa Matrona, a double major in Chemistry and Biochemistry.  We hope you enjoy reading about our journey!

Today was our last free day in Athens, so we decided to make the most of it! It began with an adventure that began with five of my fellow honors program members and I traveling 30 minutes outside of Athens to reach Hymettus Mountain to begin mountain climbing with guides that we had hired. Once we arrived, with the help of our three guides, we hiked up the mountain to reach the area where we were to go climbing. I had no experience in rock climbing so even though I was very excited, I was also slightly nervous and had no clue what to expect. Once it was my turn to go, I began to climb and made it roughly halfway up one of the beginner’s courses the first time, and three-quarters of the way on my second try.  This may not sound impressive, but for my first try I was pretty proud of myself and greatly appreciated all the support and words of encouragement from my peers. After our climbing session was up, we began the hike back down the mountain.  Overall, it was an amazing experience and the views during the hike were beautiful. We even saw a turtle on the way back!

Then we decided to go into the city during the morning and wander around to do some final souvenir shopping and some exploring. Our first stop was the Acropolis Museum, which was really interesting and it was an awesome experience to see artwork and sculptures that have withstood the test of time. The number of sculptures and artifacts that were discovered, restored, and displayed were unbelievable as they were thousands of years old. Photos were unfortunately not allowed in much of the museum. However, I was extremely excited to be able to take a picture of five of the six original magnificent female figures that were a part of the Erechtheion. I was also intrigued by the fact that the experts have been able to theorize what the structures and designs looked like in their prime. 

After the museum, we walked through the historical district of Athens and stopped at a couple shops. After browsing and some students purchasing small souvenirs, we stopped for lunch at a little cafe. The waiter there was very entertaining and our seafood and pork gyros were delicious. Following lunch, we broke off and a small group of us headed back to the hotel to go to the beach where we laid on our towels and read/talked. 

Later on, the rest of our group joined us at the beach and we hung out for a bit and even played volleyball with a local who needed some people to play with. Shortly thereafter, we left the beach and headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. For dinner, we went to a restaurant around the corner from the hotel where they served HUGE portions and it was the perfect end to our trip. The evening ended with packing and a quick nap to prepare to play cards until our departure at 3:00am on Thursday morning. What a crazy but perfect way to end our time in Greece! I will cherish the memories and friendships made throughout the entire trip, but can’t wait to get home and share my experiences with friends and family.